Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1887-03-17
UGLY ELEPHANTS.
THRILLING STORIES OF THEIR WICK
EDNEsS IN CAPTIVITY.

Pachyderms-An of them Afraid of =
Rat or Mouse.
The worst elephant that ever walked in
circus parade in the United States was Fore
paugh's well known big elephant Romeo. He
was as full of mischief as a monkey, and as
dangerous as a dynamite mine. He was not
bad in spells, but always bad, and his at
tendants never knew when his big trunk was
going to swing at them with the force Of
batUering ram He considered every man
who Travelled with the Forepaugh show his
born enemy. He had a special dislike to
Adam Forepaugh, Sr., and never lost an op-
portunity to attempt the veteran showman's
life. Whenever Mr.. Forepaugh went near
him he would make swipe at him with his
trunk or throw at him the first missile he
could find When the show came to Phila-
delphia to winter Romeo had to be chained
in the middle of big room alone, out of reach
of the sides and top His chains had to be
fastened to post anchored about ten feet In
the ground. His hind legs had to be fastened
with chains stretched obiquely out and back
from him.
Whenever an especially violent fit Of tenn
per seized Romeo it was necessary to throw
him and beat him into submission. The
throwing was accomplished by fastening
block and tackle to the chains on the hind
legs and drawing those members up under his
big body until he was compelled to let him
Gelf down. Once down he was chained tight
and held, while dozen men would surround
him and thrash him with poles until he
trumpeted enough" 1t frequently took ten
hours to beat him into submission, and he was
often kept lying on the floor for three or four
days before he would give in.
> The last seven years of his life Romeo de-
pended on one eye to guide his elephantine
way through life The other was shot out by
his keeper, Stuart Craven, one day in the fall
Of 1865, on Ridge avenue, Philadelphia, after
Romeo had broken down the brick wall cl
the animal house where Forepaugh was wis.
tsring. Romeo took a notion to wander, and
after raising merry war among the other
animals, he butted down the brick wall of the
house and started down the Ridge Stuart
Craven followed him with a shotgun and
emptied about pound of shot into Romeo's
leather hide. One load took effect in one OF
his eyes and blinded him, and at the same
time conquered the big brute so that he al
lowed himself to be driven back to his
quarters.
A couple of years later Romeo killed an at
tendant named Canada Bill" at Marlboro,
Pa, by throwing him against a wall and
then getting him in front of him and kneel-
ing upon him. Elephant George" an attend
ant, was nearly drowned by him while riding
across a river on the elephants neck. Romeo
dived three times in the attempt to drown
George, who was rescued just in time by the
other people of the show, who went after him
in boats
Romeo died in Chicago in 1872 from lock-
jaw, caused by the sores made on his ankles
by the shackles His skeleton is now mount
ed in the College of Surgeons and Physicians
in Chicago. In his time he killed three men
and destroyed $4,000 worth of property.
Hogul, an elephant that was owned by
John O'Brien, had a propensity to knock
Gown and kneel upon anybody who was near
him when he took one of his fits of bad tenn
per. He was hard animal to conquer, and
it frequently took several days thrashing.
lie was killed in 1871 in an attempt to subdue
MIN. He was kept lying down for four days
on damp ground after a thrashing, and he
caught cold and died of pneumonia.
Chief and Queen, two elephants of the Bar
mum herd were sold to Mr.. Forepaugh last
spring for $1,000. This low price was ac-
cepted for them on account of their danger
hatred for James a. Bailey, of Barnum,
Bailey & Hutchinson, from the first time she
saw him, and the big brute never lost an op-
portunity to make an attempt upon his life.
At the opening of the season two years ago in
Madison Square garden, she nearly succeeded
in accomplishing her designs on Mr. Bailey.
Queen was in the procession coming down the
track, and Mr. Bailey was walking in the op-
posite direction. When Queen saw him com
ing she edged out toward him, and as Mr.
Bailey got opposite her there was a post be-
hind him. Queen saw her opportunity and
swerved suddenly toward him, attempting to
catch him between her huge body and the
post and squeeze him to death, but Bailey saw
her purpose just in time and sprang aside, es-
Gaping by a hairs breadth.
Pickaninny, the little clown elephant,
known all over the country on account Of his
funny performances with the clown, Charlie
Mccarthy, was performing at Slocums min
strels several weeks ago, and kept his temper
well enough until the last night, when he took
anotion to play the bad elephant Hestarted
by knocking his keeper down, and then picked
him up and threw him against the wall. The
man was nearly dead when Mccarthy res
cued him.
Emperor, who was Jumbo's side partner
with the Barnum show during the season be-
fore last took fit of stubbornness on him in
Troy, n. Y, while being driven through the
street, and he broke away and went on a
rampage. He got into an iron foundry and
burned his feet and then ran into crowded
street. Before he was caught and chained he
had injured four men and woman, and had
done 81, 900 worth of other damage.
When Adam Forepaugh started in the
menagerie business he had but two elephants
with him. They were Romeo, the wickedest
in the country, and Annie, a black African
elephant, the trickiest on the road. 1t was
Annie's delight to frighten farmers teams
into running away, and she was never happier
than when she could scare a COW out of seven
years milk. Whenever she saw a COW on the
road out went the big ears like sails, trunk
and tail were elevated, and with a soul har-
rowing series of trumpetings Annie would
make at the COW, and in about five seconds
that COW, surrounded by cloud of dust,
would disappear over the horizon.
The biggest and wickedest elephant in the
country will back off from a rat or mouse,
and will tremble and trumpet if advanced
upon by the little animaL-Philadelphi
Record